German wind developer Sowitec has secured environmental permits for four Mexican wind farms totaling more than 1 GW of installed capacity.

The developer says it has completed the necessary environmental and social requirements from the Mexican Ministry of Environment SEMARNAT (Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) for development in the Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Zacatecas regions. The wind farms are planned to go operational as early as the end of 2016.

The first 200 MW of the pipeline was completed and transferred to Sowitec’s investment partner in the country.

Sowitec, active in the Mexican renewable energy market since 2008, says that Banco Santander has agreed to finance up to 740 MW of its Mexican portfolio.